Christmas Reminiscence

Childhood Christmas – The Italian Christmas Eves of my childhood were huge gatherings of cousins, aunts, uncles, and Nonni.  Because meat was not allowed on this day, the feast—and it was a feast—featured all types of seafood, prepared by my Italian grandmother.  Succulent shrimp, copious calamari, and Pesce Abbondante tempted the revelers just back from visiting the incredibly beautiful crèche at St. Callistus’ Church down the street.  Sometimes we would leave early and hurry to my Irish grandmother’s home, replete with Uncle Jim’s aluminum Christmas tree lit with revolving spectra of color from his holiday light wheel. We’d arrive just in time to take my Grandmother to Midnight Mass. She especially loved the Christmas Mass with flowers, special hymns, and angels announcing the birth of the anointed babe. The Christmases of my childhood were filled with loving people, savory scents, and snow.

Old-Enough Christmas – When I was in second or third grade I became eligible to join my older girl cousins, aunts, and my mother on the special holiday trip to downtown Chicago at night. We would catch the nearby streetcar, bursting with expectations of an exciting evening spent at the Chicago Theater’s Christmas Stage Show.  How we laughed at Billy de Wolf and swooned over Dick Contino. The stage settings were glorious and the dancers dazzled.  The “girls” were having their special Christmas treat and I was old enough to join them!

Young Love Christmas – Hubby and I became engaged over Christmas break of my senior year in college, despite the embarrassing Christmas present mix-up when I mistakenly gave him the wrong gift—a pair of pink petti-pants intended for me! He, however, was not blameless in holiday protocol. During vacations I worked at the University Medical Center and he would pick me up when work was over.  He was there, earlier than usual and very nervous.  The reason?  He proposed marriage as soon as we got into his car. Unfortunately he was parked across the street from the Cook County Morgue—making me an offer I couldn’t refuse!

Our first Christmas as man and wife centered on our first real tree, strung with cranberries and popped corn. That first Christmas, in our very own apartment, glittered with holiday lights, the spicy smell of Christmas cookies, and a lifetime of love just beginning.

Christmas for the Children – Such excitement!  By the end of October the Sear’s Wish Book was well thumbed. Was there any toy my daughter didn’t want? With eager anticipation we planned the tree trimming party never knowing which was best, decorating the tree or being together for the treat-filled party afterward.  I baked all month!

The children surprised us with ornaments made at school and increased our trove of tree hangings with homemade shrink-dink figures of Snoopy and the gang. Each year our son destroyed another Styrofoam gingerbread man ornament, thinking that I wouldn’t notice. Keeping presents secure was a full time job. Each child tried to extort the other saying that they “knew what you are getting for Christmas.” Christmas morning discovered sleepy parents supervising the unwrapping. Dad prepared his special waffles for breakfast.

Empty Nest Holidays – There are no small children bursting with curiosity and anticipation now. There’s no real Christmas at all anymore. Our daughter, who adored Christmas, is dead. There are no children of hers to delight. And besides, cookies are unhealthy…

One must be careful about the holidays now for our remaining family does not celebrate Christmas; Hanukkah does not really belong to us. Even though our granddaughters enjoy “double dipping” it’s a time to tread carefully.  We try to recapture some of the magic for our girls however. One year we rented an apartment in Orange County for a lengthy stay. I sent out a small, artificial tree and asked if it would be OK for the girls to help us decorate it. The happy pair was excited to see the tiny tree. Dani had made a special ornament in school and the girl’s ballet teacher had given all her students special ballerina ornaments. The girls set to work on their task, carefully considering where to place each piece. This was all new to them. Finally the last ornament was placed and I laid the small red velvet tree skirt around the base. The early December darkness supplied the final touch. We turned off all the lights and then Grandpa plugged in the tree, the tiny lights dazzling young eyes. The oohs and aahs were all the presents I needed to make my spirits bright. The Holidays of their childhood will be filled with loving people, savory scents, and no snow.  Let’s bake some cookies, organic of course.

Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy New Year.

Spies, Lies, and Intelligence

We’ve been doing some traveling this autumn.  Our first trip was to the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. The theme of the Road Scholar program we attended was “Spies, Lies, and Intelligence: the Shadowy World of International Espionage.”  This was our twentieth program with the Road Scholar organization (formerly known as Elderhostel) and we haven’t had a bad one yet!  This latest program was no exception, except that it was exceptional.

An engaged group of 38 people began their experience with a viewing of the movie “Breach,” a dramatic account of FBI Special Agent Robert Hanssen, a convicted traitor who fed American secrets to the KGB (Soviet military intelligence) and the SVR (Russian intelligence service). The lively discussion that followed the movie was facilitated by a retired CIA counterintelligence officer and Russian/Soviet specialist. The methodology and rationale of Hanssen was examined and the damage his treason caused explained in some detail.  Our extremely knowledgeable speaker set the stage for the ensuing days’ programs and excursions.

The next morning a retired U.S. Air Force intelligence officer and Vietnam veteran introduced the topic of espionage in the D.C. area. Jonathan Pollard, an American traitor, convicted of giving secrets to Israel for ideological purposes and the damage done by Navy spy John Walker, who traitorous motive was profit, were discussed. Our presenter, now a Certified Master Tour Guide,  led the group on a guided tour featuring notable foreign and domestic espionage sites, focusing in the Georgetown area.  The evening program was an amazing lecture by a retired CIA polygraph expert.  The lie detector has its detractors, but most people don’t realize that the final product, those squiggly lines on a sheet of paper, is more or less anti-climactic.  The real work takes place before the actual test when the polygraph operator and his subject spend hours discussing the test questions during the most important pre-test interview.  Some of the presenter’s most challenging cases were described.  The audience was ready with many questions, each answered with completeness and honesty.

The program just got better and better.  The group was on the move the next day, heading for a morning long visit to Ft. Meade where the National Security Agency is based.  Our objective was not the NSA but the National Cryptology Museum located at the Fort.  The photos above were taken at the museum. I was thrilled when I was chosen to send a short message on one of the museum’s Enigma machines.  There I was, back in 1941 at Bletchley Park, attempting to crack a Nazi coded message!  The museum’s director was our guide and a very far ranging tour include not only their Enigmas, but the only-one-in-existence Cryptanalytic Bombe, the advantage of PURPLE- the program that broke the Japanese cipher, an introduction to SIGSALY (Secure Digital Voice Communications in World War II), the Navaho—and other Native American—Code talkers, the Soviet’s version of the Trojan Horse in the guise of an American Eagle wall plaque, intelligence satellites, and a great deal more.  Everyone agreed that we could have spent a few more hours at the Ft. Meade facility.

There were other activities and trips but the best was left for last.  The attendees were enthralled with the case stories the former Royal Canadian Mounted Police Security Service officer (somewhat like the FBI intelligence services) and current NSA guest lecturer described.  This gentleman spent much of his career in the Soviet Russia espionage scene.  The entire group was stunned when he introduced the guest he had brought to the program, a former KGB colonel who, amongst many other activities, had turned a NY Jesuit into a Soviet spy.  Both gentlemen regaled the group with stories of their experiences, describing some of the “assets” they had turned and managed.  Again the questions were fast and furious; the answers amazing.  The final two hours passed too quickly and the program was at an end with flights to catch. What a fabulous memory!

Road Scholar no longer limits its programs to those 55 and older.  If you have any interest in broadening your horizons check them out on the web:  roadscholar.org

Long Shadows

It is shortly after the autumnal equinox that I begin to notice the longer shadows and earlier nightfall.  It is always the shadows that catch my attention most; a reminder that the warm and hope full days of summer are gone.  When other would a 72 degree day be described as “very warm?”  When other does 65 degrees seem so cold?

This fall was slow in coming, but now firmly established after a searing summer.  The leaf colors were spectacular if short lived.  All that remains after several windy, rainy days is to rake them into piles while awaiting our designated leaf pick-up dates.  Oh how I miss the smell of burning leaves, carefully tended—the scent of more youthful days.

Autumn is a time for chores that cannot wait. I have washed the windows so that, whatever sunshine winter allows, can shine into the house, warming it and cheering the cabin fevered inhabitants.  The outdoor chairs and table have been stored in the shed; the strawberries mulched. We’ve had the furnace cleaned and checked. Our warmer clothing has been taken from their storage boxes, replaced by shorts and sleeveless tops. The snow blower is ready for its re-awakening. A cold snowy Midwestern winter is predicted. Very soon I must cut down the last of the herbs, hoping that the hardier plants will winter over. 

Autumn is time to activate your to-be-read reading list.  Every fall the Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago sponsors IBAM, a celebration of Irish books, art and music.  This year the festival was held early but it is a “must attend” and attend we did.  The event seemed condensed partly because the usual gala dinner was held on one of the event days instead of the evening before, partly because there seemed to be fewer authors and musicians, partly because the emphasis was on Derry and Northern Ireland, and partly because the organizational spirit appeared constrained.

Nevertheless there were wonderful writers, lively musicians, dedicated artists and books to buy. Tightly scheduled presentations made choosing between the Saturday or Sunday programs difficult.  We attended on Saturday, arriving in time for me to climb the stairs to the fourth floor for an author talk.  Colum McCann, Dublin born writer, is now living in NYC.  He had written several books including the award winning Let The Great World Spin.  It was not his past works that dominated the day’s conversation, it was rather his forthcoming work, Transatlantic, scheduled for publication in June 2013, that informed an hour-long insight into the mind of this fine writer.   In this forthcoming book McCann relates three Atlantic crossings, carefully interweaving the Irish visit of Frederick Douglas in the 1850s, the first airplane crossing of Brown and Alcott [not Lindbergh] when the pair flew from Newfoundland to the west coast of Ireland just after World War I, and the endeavor of U. S. Statesman and former Senator George Mitchell, trying to facilitate a lasting truce between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland during the Clinton administration.  Each story is compelling, but the writer’s artistry and imagination weaves a tapestry I cannot wait to read in June.

IBAM features a variety of panel discussions. The influence of James Joyce on Modern Literature was shared by Joyce experts, academics and an artistic interpreter of Joyce’s words. The discussion was far ranging and included a spirited reading of an excerpt from Flannagan’s Wake. A second panel, held later in the day, investigated Modern Irish Writing: Is the “Irish” Significant?  American born Irish-American writer Mary Pat Kelly was joined by Irish born writers, Maurice Fitzpatrick and Colum McCann, plumbing the depths of their Irish heritage, explaining how being Irish has affected what and/or how they write. The most startling comment was made by McCann who thought that it might be possible that the next great Irish writer might just be a Pole!  [Think about that one!]

The day was filled with theatrical excerpts, film, music and other author talks.  The featured writer this year was Morgan Llywelyn.  I had an opportunity to talk with J.S. Dunn about her book Bending the Boyne, an historical fictional tale set in 2200 B.C.E. when the descendants of those who built Newgrange and the other Boyne passage graves are facing a new invasion by men looking for copper and gold.  [She most graciously signed my copy of her book.]  Other visiting authors included the astounding Maurice Fitzpatrick whose book and film “The Boys of St. Columb’s” tells the story of the first generation of Derry children to receive a free education under the 1947 Education Act in Northern Ireland, cartoonist Pat Byrnes, Dennis Foley, Mary Terese Kanak,  children’s writer Sandra McCone, poet Jerry O’Neill, and many others.

IBAM provided much to read and think about as the shadows lengthen and the days grow colder. I think I’ll just warm up some spiced cider and curl up with J.S. Dunn’s story of the waning days of one Irish culture, awaiting the spring and summer of others…maybe even, someday, a Pole!

Let's Shop S'More

The catalogs keep coming and it’s time to give you some additional great gift ideas for the holidays.  Although I have not actually purchased any holiday gifts yet, I have ambitious plans thanks to all the at home catalog ideas I’ve garnered with each day’s mail delivery. See my earlier posting for company websites I’ve already mentioned. Only new companies’ URLs will be listed. Let the shopping begin!

FOR THE HOME AND HOLIDAYS:  We’ll jump right to the Christmas decorations, because most of you already have yours up I bet.  Just in case your neighbor’s outdoor displays dwarf your homey efforts Hammacher Schlemmer (hammacher.com) has you covered with a choice of a 20 foot Reclining Inflatable Snow Man or the 2-story tall Inflatable Reindeer. Harriet Carter covers the indoors with a delightful Musical Toilet Roll Holder that has a number of festive songs to delight bathroom visitors and family alike. If you insist on tasteful Christmas decorations then check out the Metropolitan Museum of Art (store.metmuseum.org) for an astonishing array of shoe ornaments—glittered, beaded, jeweled. Imelda Marcos eat your heart out!

            Cat owners can celebrate the feline gods any time of year with two delightful decorating accessories. One is a George Carruth Nine Lives Plaque topped with a halo in homage to some lovable kitty whose nine lives are skillfully portrayed below, each with a unique expression indicative of a particular life. This is offered by Signals (signals.com).  Half a coven of kitties, each with a unique expression indicative of their personalities, surround a votive candle—from Collectibles Direct.  Together these make a stunning statement for all cat lovers. Yikes! For the dog people I am ashamed to submit the Triple Dachshund Doorstop from The Paragon. If you like your animals fanciful check out Signals’ Rock Caterpillar Sculpture, handcrafted for deck, yard, or garden.

            Nostalgia is everywhere this year. Stock up on period telephones that are compatible with today’s technology: a 1939 Black Desk top model, the 1959 pink Princess and the 1960’s Slimlines in a variety of colors. All are available at the Vermont Country Story (www.VermontCountryStore.com) where you can also stock up on all kinds of vintage candies. What home décor would be complete without wall art?  You can have a canoe paddle with a satellite laser etching of your favorite lake OR you can hand an Irrational Numbers Wall Clock—both from Signals. Add a conversation piece carnivorous plant or two with an Edmunds Scientific Giant Carnivorous Plant kit.  Finally, and this is something every home should seriously consider, many catalogs and stores carry Four-Way Powered Emergency Weather Radios that include cell phone charger that will enable you to keep in contact with emergency weather announcements, act as emergency lights, and keep you in contact with family and services. I’ve seen models in Signals, L.L.Bean (llbean.com), Hammacher Schlemmer, Collectibles Direct and other catalogs.  Consider this one seriously as a great gift!

            What to get the CHILDREN in your life?  Robots are always tasteful. Many stores carry a Programmable Robot Rover that a child can assemble and program to do errands or to guard their bedroom doors from intruders (like parents). This was being offered at Edmunds Scientific, Young Explorers, Mindware, and National Geographic (www.shopng.org) Kids seem to have all the fun.  Consider an Internal Combustion Engine Kit that supposedly teaches a child—should s/he wrest it away from dad long enough—to assemble and operate. I think it runs on vegetable oil (would our cars could do so) and the inner workings are visible for learning about pistons firing and all that great automotive stuff.  Again, lots of catalogs have this, e.g. Edmunds Scientific, Signals, and Young Explorers. Mindware, one of my favorite places to shop, offers many educational kits and learning activities. The Engineering Kits like Backyard Ballistics, The Art of the Catapult, and Whoosh, Boom, Splat provide instruction on how to launch vegetables from a cannon, build warrior robots, hurl things through the air, and any number of fun things is just one example. Another science project kids will love is Disgusting Special Effects Make-up Kits offered by Mindware and Young Explorers. Kids can make themselves, family or friends up to resemble real movie horror characters.

            All is not learning however. Gift ideas range from the Hope Diamond Collectible Barbie from the Smithsonian, to a DC Super Heroes: the Ultimate Pop-up Book that includes a light up Bat signal and a twirling Lasso of Truth from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There are Bug Wrist Bands made with of REAL bugs from Toys to Grow On (www.ttgo.com), a remote controlled hairy Tarantula at Hammacher Schlemmer, a Four Foot long remote control Flying Shark at Edmunds Scientific, a Gator Game kit to assemble in which your child first puts together the motorized “Nervous Alligator”. Then the child puts its finger into the gator’s mouth trying to manipulate the tail without moving the gator’s inners before the gator bites off his hand. This game cum kit is offered at American Science and Surplus. For the budding young cowgirl, or budding Billy the Kid, in your family there is a Super Safe Target Game. The catalog photos shows a delightful little girl blasting away with her infrared six-shooter, shooting up the plastic bottles and cans. At least they are not on the Internet!

            Finally for the LADIES, a word to the wise for your gentlemen thinking that a new iron or scrub mop would be just the ticket. Don’t do it unless you are sure you will get custody of the large screen TV.  But some of you won’t listen to my advice so check out Hammacher Schlemmer’s Back Pack Vacuum Cleaner replete with two extra wands, 6 attachments and other goodies.  Another no-no, at least for my hubby, is the Young Explorers Time Flies Alarm Clock. When it’s time to get up, this baby starts flying erratically around the bedroom, forcing your tired spouse to get out of bed and catch it. I expect you will too if you buy this.

            Nostalgia is in, as I have already said, and you can outfit your wife with a snazzy apron and baking tools reminiscent of her grandmother’s heyday in the 1950s, thanks to Smithsonian. Another old time goody was placed right in the middle of gifts for the ladies in the National Geographic catalog:  The Chalet Cukoo Clock from Germany features a St. Bernard carrying a barrel of brandy amongst its timely figures. Maybe you would like to treat your queen to a Queen Elizabeth II umbrella in a deep bell clear shape so she can see where you throw your cloak over the next puddle. This is offered by Hammacher Schlemmer. One gift I would like is offered in the Collectibles Direct catalog. It is a very cool Swiss Tool that includes knives, pliers, screwdrivers, wood saw, ruler, etc. etc. all in a black belt pouch.

            OK, if you’re stuck, go for jewelry. The ladies love it! The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a really creepy 20 inch long Egyptian Snake Lariat of 24 karat gold for milady’s neck. Signals has a working zipper bracelet made of copper that can be cunningly worn zipped or not for the more daring gal. Does she already have bells on her toes? Then go for National Geographic for Rings For Her Fingers, ten stretchy, sequined rings in a variety of colors and floral types.  And finally, for the lady whose husband suffers from a roving eye at social events, consider the Smithsonian’s Eye of Horus Pin/Pendant that makes a real statement. It’s guaranteed to keep hubby in line!

            That’s all the suggestions for now. I’ll keep my eye (non-Horus) out for last minute gifts should the catalogs keep coming, but I figure that most of these companies have stricken my name off  their mailing lists by now...

NOTE:  Caveat emptor!  Although I have purchased different items from most—but not all—of the companies mentioned I have no relationship with any of them except as a customer who has been generally satisfied with her purchases. I can make no claims on the quality of any of the items mentioned above; I make no profit if you purchase anything.  There are many nice products featured in these catalogs—some I really like—that I have not mentioned.  Visit the company websites if you’re curious.  The items I have featured should not be regarded as a recommendation of either the item or the company. I gain nothing if you decide you wish to do business with any company. My list is intended to be fun.